Smoky Black Bean Stew with Green Chile Cream

We love, love, love Mexican fare at Casa Strickland! Nearly every Sunday after church in nearly every city we've ever lived, we head, as my dear husband says, "South of the Border" for lunch. When we lived in Knoxville, TN, our Catholic church was nestled amongst several HUGE churches...Presbyterians to our left, Lutherans to our right and the biggest of all, the Baptist church down the street. Their church was so big that they had to have policemen directing the traffic when they all began to leave at one time. Our joke (meant in the best, most loving way) was that if we wanted to eat lunch out, we had to "beat the Baptists" to get there. Parents will do anything to get their kids away from visiting with their friends and FINALLY getting into the car, won't they? One of my fondest memories at that time was when we had dragged our feet getting into the car after church and the jury was still out as to who would make it to our favorite Mexican restaurant first ...the Catholics (us) or the Baptists. After we safely raced to the restaurant and into the building, we were left standing right inside the big glass front door, waiting for our table. Right at that time a huge swarm of cars packed to the gills with hungry looking people, pulled into the parking lot and headed for the building. Now I have no idea what church, if any, these folks had come from, but my dear son, Peter, yells out at the top of his lungs as only a 1st grader can get away with, "Mommy, the Baptists are coming, the Baptists are coming!" Thankfully, the beautiful Latina hostess (who was probably Catholic and felt my pain at that time) whisked us away and to our table. We got to eat in peace without anyone being offended enough to comment and after that, the kids that wanted to eat Mexican after church understood the importance of getting in the car.

My typical Mexican dine-in meals have evolved from tamales, beef fajitas and beef enchiladas to cheese dip, chiles rellenos, and cheese enchiladas (I really did think all that cheese was healthy!) to most recently, a few chips with salsa, guacamole salad, veggie fajitas (no cheese) with rice and beans...still delicious...still spicy...still satisfying, but no meat or dairy...ole'! My Smoky Black Bean Stew is for those nights that you don't feel like getting gussied up to go out or just need to make dinner right after lunch because of your insanely activity-packed evening schedule ahead. This stew is so easy and quick that you can have your dinner on the table in less than an hour...that's making good time at our house! It can also be thrown into a crock pot after browning the first ingredients and cooked on low for up to 4 hours...freezes well, too! (The stew, not the Green Chile Cream)

Smoky Black Bean Stew with Green Chile Cream

For the stew:

3 (15 oz.) cans of organic black beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium onion, diced

1 t. dried oregano

1 T. cumin

1 t. chipotle chili powder + 2 t. reg. chili powder (1st choice, but SPICY)

or 2 t. each of smoked paprika and reg chili powder (2nd choice)

or 1 T. regular chili powder + 5 dashed of Liquid Smoke (last choice, but still good)

1 t. Adobo powder (found in Latin section of grocery store. Use Adobo with or without pepper or cumin)

1 (15 oz) can of organic tomato sauce

1 (15 oz.) can of organic crushed tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can of Rotel tomatoes & Green Chiles

1 c. vegetable broth

Saute onions in veg. broth over high heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Add spices and cook about 5 minutes more. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes and beans. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over rice or with tortilla chips. Drizzle approximately 1 T of Green Chile Cream over top of stew...enjoy!

Green Chile Cream:

This recipe may sound strange for those who have not replaced cream with cashew...please try it, though...it's delicious. Also great as a dip for tortilla chips!

1 (4 oz) can of diced green chiles

3/4 c. raw cashews

1/2 c. plain, unsweetened soy milk (I like Westsoy brand for this)

1 t. fresh lemon juice

1 T. oil

1 t. salt

1 t cumin

Mix all ingredients in (pref. a high speed, like a Vita-Mix) blender on high until really smooth and creamy.Will keep covered for 1-2 days refrigerated.